MUSCLE PHYSIOLOGY

Detailed explanation-1: -Therefore, intercalated discs are gap junctions that link adjacent cardiac muscles so that electrical impulses can travel between cells and causes to contract almost simultaneously (Severs 1989).

Detailed explanation-2: -Intercalated discs are part of the sarcolemma and contain two structures important in cardiac muscle contraction: gap junctions and desmosomes. A gap junction forms channels between adjacent cardiac muscle fibers that allow the depolarizing current produced by cations to flow from one cardiac muscle cell to the next.

Detailed explanation-3: -The intercalated disc (ID) mediates coupling of neighboring myocytes through intercellular signaling. Intercellular communication is highly regulated via intracellular signaling, and signaling pathways originating from the ID control cardiomyocyte remodeling and function.